On August 3, 2026, we were all anxiously watching our phones and computers for news about a Yankee trade. We were waiting to see who the new Yankee catcher would be. There were so many big names out there, and it seemed like the Yankees were bound to land one.  After all, Austin Wells was not only one of the worst hitters in baseball, but he was actually competing for the worst Yankee hitter of all time! Well, the Yankees didn’t make a trade, and you know what? It was the best “move” Cashman made at the deadline!

Austin Wells was horrible

For simplicity’s sake, I am going to use his stats prior to the All-Star break. At the time, he was slashing .155/.247/.258, which was somehow an improvement over his production at the end of June! The Yankees were simply getting nothing from him, and since J.C. Escarra is also left-handed, they brought up Ali Sanchez, who simply didn’t offer much at all, all season (.244/.275/.302). The Yankees were in the bottom three in terms of catcher production.

Austin Wells turned it around

In the second half of the season, Austin Wells was one of the more productive catchers in the league. A slash line of .229/.351/.436 is fairly close to what the Yankees were hoping for from him (his career slash line is .213/.294/.397). Wells will never hit for average, but that OPS of .787 would actually rank #5 for the catching position for the whole season (between the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers). It also raised the Yankees’ season-long catching OPS to 600, which is about 100 points higher than it was at the end of June.

The one guy the Yankees could have gotten, but he didn’t fit

Liam Hicks is a great hitter. The Tampa Bay Rays also got him for next to nothing. Hicks rewarded the Rays with a slash line of .288/.379/.440. More impressively, he struck out as many times as he walked (16). The problem with Hicks, though, is that he is not known for his glove, and he is left-handed. Once the Yankees acquired Luis Garcia Jr., that closed the door on adding a left-handed bat.

Wells was pretty much better than all the other options

So, you wanted Adley Rutschman? .222/.278/.410 was about average for a catcher, and Wells outperformed him. Hunter Goodman? He would have cost a fortune, and while he played well in August (.878 OPS), he cooled off in September (.693 OPS), which means he produced on par with Wells. How about Tyler Stephenson? He too was hot in August (.811 OPS), but also cooled down in September (.565 OPS). How about a bat-only catcher like Ivan Herrera? His performance was solid for a catcher, but still worse than Wells (.708 OPS) in August and .741 OPS) in September. Lastly, how about Ryan Jeffers, who seemed like the perfect fit for the Yankees? A decent August (.740 OPS) was followed up by a clunker in September (.595 OPS).

We always remember the splashy trades at the deadline.  We remember the prospects given up and the championships earned.  What we don’t remember are the deals that were never made.  In this instance, we have to credit Brian Cashman for the deal he didn’t make to add a catcher!